The weather is grey, the big jumpers are out and the tans are fading faster than summer’s dance floor memories. It’s getting a little cold for the beach, and also for those regular sea swims (unless you are very brave, or a jellyfish – they’re back!), but now you have more time on your hands. When it’s cold and grey outside it can be hard to pick yourself up to exercise.

Likewise the cold weather will have you reaching for comfort food, and when you’ve got a baggy sweatshirt to hide your dietary indiscretions under, it can become all too easy to let things slide.

This is where motivation comes in: it’s easy to be motivated to look great in your bikini when you’re in it all the time, but when everyone’s all covered up, that motivation can easily slip. So, set yourself some exercise goals. Christmas is coming, set a target weight you want to be at, or a distance you want to be regularly running, or a waist measurement – something, with a date to achieve it by, then just get started.

By focusing on the outcomes of what you want to achieve rather than your current situation you can really motivate yourself to keep going and get the results you want. How about a new pair of jeans you want to fit into or a new dress you’ll reward yourself with if you hit your target? When you’ve got skin in the game it makes it all the more likely you’ll succeed.

Finally, it might be cold, and sure, you might need that jumper, but how about sporting a skinny knit that shows off your figure? If that’s pushing it, then have a look in the mirror… sometimes that can be the biggest motivation of all!